Wednesday Bolts – 9.14.11

Henry Abbott of TrueHoop on revenue sharing: “The Thunder play in the 45th biggest “designated marketing area” in the U.S. Only the Grizzlies and Hornets play in smaller markets. When the Sonics were threatening to move, Mark Cuban was openly skeptical, saying such a small market would hurt the strength of the whole league, simply because it would be very hard to make money there. And yet, sources say, thanks to skillful management, a dedicated ownership group (and, to be honest, huge contributions from players still on below-market rookie deals) the Thunder are profitable and competitive. As Clay Bennett and his colleagues go to incredible lengths to woo the local business community, must they share the wealth with owners who get worse results in better markets?”

Ken Berger of CBSSports.com on yesterday’s negotiations: “Are the players, having fought back the owners’ quest for what Hunter called Tuesday “total capitulation,” willing to cut off paychecks for more than 400 players for a year so that Corey Maggette can make more money than he deserves until his contract finally can be dumped into a voodoo-math NBA trade at some future deadline? If two parties had agreed on the terms of a divorce, are they going to hold up the alimony payments over how much goes in each installment or how it can and can’t be spent? This is where we are: at the heart of the blood issue for both sides. Hunter articulates it more than the owners and the league, but that’s what it is to both. The only question is how much blood.”

Chris Sheridan: “The time for them to improve their offer will come later this month, when the calendar dictates that it is time to move toward closure. In a labor negotiation, both sides do not make small incremental moves toward the center. They make a big leap when it comes time to make a big leap. That time is not now. It is probably another two weeks away. Today was a day for the owners to instill fear and put whatever the union offered them into their wallets. I’d say their mission was accomplished.”

On SB Nation’s top 99 in 2015, Serge Ibaka comes in 43rd: “My fear for Ibaka is a bit different: what happens when everyone (Brooks included) decides the Thunder needs to diversify and get some post scoring in. It’ll happen. Post presence is a holy unicorn in the NBA: rarely seen, underappreciated when it’s there, overwrought when it’s missing. Ibaka’s running mate up front is Kendrick Perkins. So they’ll need some post touches out of Serge at some point, and he hasn’t shown that level of offensive skill to this point. Hopefully, Brooks and Sam Presti can ignore the inevitable demands for a traditional pivot and Ibaka can thrive as a new Nene.”

And James Harden 38th: “What you saw in the 2011 Playoffs? Yeah, you’re going to see a whole lot of that and more from Harden in the next four years. Harden’s resemblance to Manu Ginobili is uncanny, and not just because they’re left-handed. Both are unbelievably crafty running the pick-and-roll and getting to the basket, especially when going left. Both are also excellent three-point shooters and above-average passers for their position. Both allow their team’s point guard to focus more on being a scorer than a passer.”

TBJ ranking the 40 players that mean the most to them. Harden is 34th, Westbrook is 33rd: “For a guy who scored the most points, shot the best percentages, had the highest PER and won the most games of his career, while also making his first All-Star and All-NBA teams, Russell Westbrook gets a lot of flak. That’s what happens when you take shots away from a guy who’s led the league in scoring two years running. It’s all good though. Westbrook’s still one of the best at his position, the kind of guy 25 teams wish they could start, and he and Kevin Durant are bros. Throw on a pair of horn rim glasses and have a smile. Last year was chill, no matter what anyone says.”

Four OKC jerseys that are cool from Crossover Chronicles: “Six years ago, Hurricane Katrina forced the Hornets to play most of their home game over the ’05-06 and ’06-07 season in Oklahoma City. So for two seasons, the rabid basketball fans of OKC got to see CP3 call their city home. Sure, it was a bit of a struggle, and the Hornets did go back to New Orleans. But the experience turned into a test-run for the city, which showed it loved the NBA enough to warrant a team of its own. So while this isn’t a “Thunder” jersey, there’d be no Thunder if this jersey didn’t exist. Honor that brief era in your history with this really cool looking #3.”

I like the plaid shirt / backpack combo Crossover Chronicles suggested. I think it'd be Flaming-Lips-at-New-Year's-cool if half the crowd showed up for the Halloween game dressed like that. We could set a Guinness record.